Distributed and High Availability Tableau Server Installations


This topic describes different installation deployment types for Tableau Server.

Validating your server deployment plan

Before you commit to installing a new Tableau Server deployment in your organisation, be sure to carefully evaluate your options. For most organisations, Tableau Cloud will provide a more reliable, performant and cost-effective analytics solution when compared to self-hosting Tableau Server. For information about the viability of Tableau Cloud for your organisation, review this blog post, Should I move my analytics to the cloud?(Link opens in a new window)

Already running Tableau Server and want to migrate to Tableau Cloud? See Tableau Cloud Manual Migration Guide(Link opens in a new window).

If you have determined that you must self-host Tableau Server, we recommend following the prescribed Tableau deployment in the Enterprise Deployment Guide(Link opens in a new window) (EDG). The EDG presents a fully tested and supported, performant, scalable, secure reference architecture based on a tiered data network. Moving forward, we are committed to investing in the EDG reference architecture to ease feature rollouts and improve upgrade scenarios.

Installation types

The most basic way to run Tableau Server is to install a single node. With this type of installation you have a fully functional Tableau Server, with all Tableau Services Manager (TSM) and Tableau Server processes running on that single node, but this may not be the optimal way to use Tableau Server. You can decide how to install Tableau based on your organisation's needs, and your resources, adding additional nodes and configuring Tableau for high availability. Your installation options include:

  • Single-node installation – This type of installation is reasonable for testing, running trials, and for environments that can handle occasional downtime and system availability due to lack of redundancy. All server processes are running on a single machine. There is less redundancy and fewer safeguards in the event of a problem with one of the server processes. You also need to make sure the computer you install Tableau Server on has adequate resources to handle the processes and the demands of users and data.

  • Distributed installation – This type of installation is also called a multi-node installation and requires multiple computers so you can install and run server processes on those distributed nodes. Spreading the server processes out over multiple nodes can extend the reliability and efficiency of Tableau Server by providing redundancy and additional computing power. With the right configuration, a distributed installation can also provide you with automatic repository failover. For more information on failover, see Repository Failover.

  • Highly available (HA) installation – An HA installation of Tableau Server is a special type of multi-node installation with a minimum of three nodes and multiple instances of key processes (the Repository, File Store/Data Engine (Hyper), Coordination Service and Client File Service) on different computers. With an HA installation, there is built-in redundancy of those key processes, including multiple File Stores, and automatic Repository failover. The goal is to minimise system downtime by eliminating single points of failure, and enabling detection of failures with failover where possible.

    Downtime is still possible in the event of an initial node failure, or when a node running Application Server (VizPortal) is recovering from a failure. Dashboards and views may load more slowly than expected, and timeouts are possible, depending on how your system is configured and being used. For more information about initial node failure, see If an initial node fails below.

The first computer you install Tableau on, the "initial node", has some unique characteristics. Three processes run only on the initial node and cannot be moved to any other node except in a failure situation, the Licence Service (Licence Manager), Activation Service and TSM Controller (Administration Controller). Tableau Server includes a script that automates moving these processes to one of your other existing nodes so you can get complete access back to TSM and keep Tableau Server running.

Two other processes are initially included on the initial node but can be added or moved to additional nodes, the CFS (Client File Service) and the Coordination Service. Depending on how your installation was configured with CFS and Coordination Service, you may also need to take steps to redeploy these.

For information about moving the Licence service and TSM Controller from the initial node to another node, see Recover from an initial node failure below.

External repository

For optimal performance for Tableau Server we recommend isolating the repository on a dedicated node in your deployment. If you have an Advanced Management licence, consider running the repository as an external database.

If your organisation has a peak load of more than 1000 VizQL sessions per hour, we also recommend running Tableau Server on Linux. In this scenario, VizQL sessions refer to any user actions that display or generate visualisations from Tableau Server.

For more information, see Tableau Server External Repository(Link opens in a new window).

Prerequisite

These instructions assume that your cluster meets the Distributed Requirements.

All nodes in a multi-node cluster must have the same type of operating system and the same major version of that operating system. For example, all RHEL 9 nodes.

You cannot install a multi-node instance of Tableau Server on a combination of Linux and Windows nodes.

Licensing

You must have a valid Tableau Server product key. The type of licence you have may determine how many nodes you can install Tableau on. For more information on licensing, see Licensing Overview.

Creating a distributed Tableau Server installation

These are the general steps you follow to create a distributed installation of Tableau Server:

  1. Begin by installing Tableau Server on your initial node.

    For details, see Install and Configure Tableau Server.

  2. Generate a node configuration (bootstrap) file on the initial node.

    For details, see Generate the node bootstrap file.

  3. Install Tableau Server on an additional node using the node bootstrap file.

    For more information, see Install and initialise an additional node.

  4. Configure your additional node with the processes you want to run on it.

    For more information, see Configure the additional node.

  5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for any additional nodes you want to install.

  6. Deploy a new Coordination Service ensemble.

    For more information, see Deploy a Coordination Service Ensemble.

  7. Add Client File Service to every node that is running the Coordination Service.

    For more information, see Configure Client File Service.

Creating a highly available (HA) Tableau Server installation

A high availability Tableau Server installation is a special type of distributed installation, designed to accommodate failure in key server components without loss of complete server functionality. To create an HA installation, follow the same steps you take to create a distributed deployment but include additional steps to make the deployment highly available. These additional steps include adding at least two additional nodes (for a minimum of three nodes in the cluster), adding a second instance of the repository, and second instances of the data engine/file store, adding additional gateway processes, and deploying a Coordination Service ensemble. You can also add a load balancer to distribute requests among the gateways.

At a high level, these are the steps you follow to create a highly available installation of Tableau Server:

  1. Begin by installing Tableau Server on your initial node.

    For details, see Install and Configure Tableau Server.

  2. Generate a node configuration (bootstrap) file on the initial node.

    For details, see Generate the node bootstrap file.

  3. Install Tableau Server on at least two additional nodes using the node bootstrap file.

    For more information, see Install and initialise an additional node.

  4. Configure each additional node with the processes you want to run on it. These must include a second copy of the Tableau Server repository, and a second copy of the data engine and file store, as well as additional instances of the gateway.

    For more information, see Configure the additional node.

  5. Deploy a Coordination Service ensemble.

    For more information, see Deploy a Coordination Service Ensemble.

  6. Add Client File Service to every node that is running the Coordination Service.

    For more information, see Configure Client File Service.

  7. (Optional) Configure a load balancer.

    For more information, see Add a Load Balancer.

For details on how to create a three-node HA installation, see Example: Install and Configure a Three-Node HA Cluster.

If an initial node fails

If there is a problem with the initial node and you have redundant processes on your other nodes, there is no guarantee that Tableau Server will continue to run.

  • Tableau Server can continue to run for up to 72 hours after an initial node failure, before the lack of the licensing service impacts other processes. If so, your users may be able to continue to sign in and see and use their content after the initial node fails, but you will not be able to reconfigure Tableau Server because you won't have access to the Administration Controller.
  • If you are running a version of Tableau Server 2021.4.2 (or older) that is configured for ATR, then problems with the initial node will render all server functionality unavailable. This is true whether the node has a problem or if you intentionally stop it (for instance, to do a system-level patch).

Even when configured with redundant processes, it is possible that Tableau Server may not continue to function after the initial node fails. This is true even when an installation is configured for high availability. This means you should make a point of moving the two unique processes to another of your running nodes as soon as possible. If your initial node fails for reasons that are recoverable in a relatively short amount of time (for example, a hardware failure you can correct), you should first attempt to bring the node back up without using the procedure below.

Recover from an initial node failure

With a Tableau Server installation, the initial node includes two services that are only installed on that node, the Licence service and the TSM Controller. If there is a problem with the initial node, Tableau Server may not continue to function, even when configured for high availability. To recover from a situation where the initial node fails, you can move the TSM Controller and the Licence service to one of your already configured nodes. This allows you to recover from the failure while using resources you already have in the cluster. You do not have to configure a standby initial node in case the initial node fails.

For details on how to recover from a failure on the initial node, see Recover from an Initial Node Failure.

Configure Coordination Service ensemble on additional nodes

Configuring a Coordination Service on multiple nodes provides additional duplication of processes and so reduces the possibility of server downtime due to an issue with one of the Coordination Service nodes. For details on how to deploy a Coordination Service ensemble on your cluster, see Deploy a Coordination Service Ensemble.

Add Client File Service (CFS) to additional nodes

Tableau Server requires at least one instance of Client File Service (CFS). Adding additional instances of CFS to other nodes provides additional duplication of processes and so reduces the possibility of server downtime due to an issue with one of the CFS nodes. We recommend that you configure an instance of CFS on each of the nodes where you deploy the Coordination Service. For details on how to configure CFS on other nodes, see Configure Client File Service.

Tableau Server service licence check

A number of processes are installed when you install Tableau Server. Some of these processes are dependent on the existence of a valid Tableau Server licence while other installed processes are not. The subset of Tableau Server that require a valid Tableau Server licence are considered "licensed processes."

When a licensed process starts or restarts, the process checks with the Tableau Server Licence Manager service on the initial node to verify there is a valid licence. When the Licence Manager validates the licence, the process is fully functional and able to respond to requests from other Tableau Server processes. Once a licensed process has received confirmation from the Licence Manager, the process does not need to reconfirm the licence for 72 hours, or until the process restarts. If the process is not able to verify that it is licensed (if the primary node is unavailable, for example) it cannot run, but it continues to check for a valid licence until it confirms the licence. To see when the last licensing check occurred, look at the log files in the /var/opt/tableau/tableau_server/data/tabsvc/logs/licenseservice directory. For more information about licensed processes, see Licensed processes.

 

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